A Regular Michael Jordan
by heeyiitspaige
Summary: Missing scene between 3x14 and 3x15. Whenever Rory can't find Jess, Luke says that he's off playing basketball. One night, Rory finally realizes that Jess and basketball are not two things she'd put together and decides to go find him. Just some Literati fluff for your enjoyment (plus sweaty Jess). R&R


**Hey guys! Here's another Rory and Jess oneshot that I threw together. I got the inspiration from a tweet I saw today by jessmarianso, which read, "i wish we got the scene of jess playing basketball what the hell and rory coming over to drag him away." I read it and was inspired, so this is for Ari. It's my own twist on a scene that takes place some time after 3x14, Swan Song, but probably before 3x15.**

 **Anyway, as always, favorite and review! I think I want to do a multi chapter Literati story but I don't know what the plot should be, so HMU if you have any ideas you want to see played out :)**

It had been an eventful Friday night in the Gilmore house; Lorelai and Emily had been at each other's throats all through drinks, and before the main course was even served the younger of the two was dragging Rory out of there by her coat collar as she called back a thank you to her grandparents and tried not to stumble over her own two feet.

Then, Lorelai had ranted the whole ride home about whatever she and Emily had fought over; halfway home the topic had changed from that to how hungry she was, and as they pulled into town Rory reassured her mother that they'd be at Luke's soon, that she shouldn't worry, and that she should slow down before Taylor came out and started yelling at them for going three miles per hour over the speed limit _again._

After parking, the two Gilmore girls got out of the car in a rush and headed into Luke's; it was already past eight by the time they made it back to the Hollow and there was no one inside of the diner, just how the pair liked it. Letting out sighs the girls hung their coats on the coat rack and sat at their favorite table, looking at each other.

It had been a few seconds and Lorelai blinked a few times, then looked confusingly at her watch. "It's been thirteen seconds and Luke hasn't come to tend to our every beck and call," she said in a worried tone before getting up and heading behind the counter. "Mom, you know how much he hates when you go behind the counter," Rory reminded her mother as she grabbed two mugs and poured some coffee.

Before Lorelai could even reply, Luke appeared in the diner from his apartment and looked at Lorelai. "How many times do I have to tell you how much I hate when you go behind the counter?" he asked, walking over to the woman and taking the mugs from her hands. Lorelai just giggled and went back to the table, allowing Luke to serve them. "What'll it be?"

"Two cheeseburgers please," Lorelai smiled at him and Luke nodded, not even bothering to write the order down on the pad before going back to make them their dinner. Lorelai and Rory talked for a bit before their burgers came out, along with fries.

"Hey Luke," Rory said as she swallowed her fry. "Where's Jess?"

The real reason Rory had requested to go to Luke was the chance of seeing her boyfriend; with school and his extra shifts at Walmart, Rory had barely seen Jess that week, and she hated it. She just wanted to sit in her room or his, reading alongside him with her head rested against his shoulder and his arm around her. It was when she was most content—well, that and when they were debating literature. She'd convince him of Rand's genius one day, she knew it.

"He went out about an hour ago, something about basketball," Luke commented before the topic was dropped and Lorelai began to tell the diner man all about how evil her mother was.

As Rory ate her burger she began to think about what Luke said; this wasn't the first time that Luke had told her that Jess was out playing basketball, but this was the first time that Rory found it strange. She had known Jess for over a year now, and not once had he expressed any interest in sports. In fact, the only time she had ever heard Jess talk about sports was when he was making some kind of reference or making fun of Dean. That, and Jess didn't really seem like the sports type to begin with.

She took one more bite of her burger before wiping her mouth and standing up. This caught her mother and Luke's attentions and they looked to her as she grabbed her jacket. "I'm going to stop by Lane's," Rory said, slipping her red jacket on and then pulling on her gloves. "I won't be home late."

"Alright sweets," Lorelai said and Luke offered the girl a smile as she headed out of the diner and towards the Kim's. Turning back, she saw that Luke and Lorelai were engaged in conversation once more, and quickly she made her way across the street and away from Lane's, towards the school.

Being as small as Stars Hollow was, there was usually only one of everything: one book store, one grocery store, one beauty supply store, one Luke's and one dance studio. There was only one elementary school and one middle school and one high school, and to go with the common theme, there was only one basketball court; it was a connecting element between Stars Hollow Middle and High School. Rory had only been there once in the eighth grade during her gym class's basketball unit, but she still knew where it was.

Rory rubbed her cold hands together as she walked in front of her old high school, the wind blowing her straight hair as she walked quickly. It was March and significantly colder than it should've been for that time of year, hence the hand rubbing and jacket wearing. She was usually comfortable with just a light sweater in March, but the cold weather of the last week had called for more than that.

Before she turned the corner of the school she could hear the sound of a basketball bouncing against cement, and when she finally turned she could see four figures running around on the court. Rory shoved her hands in her pockets as she approached the courts; when she reached them she recognized each boy as a student at Stars Hollow High. One in particular she knew very well: it was her boyfriend, Jess Mariano.

Rory kept her distance and watched the boys play, genuinely surprised at how well Jess was doing on the court. She knew that at least two of the three other boys were on the varsity basketball team when she was a sophomore, and the other one was just as good. Rory couldn't help but smile when she saw that Jess had _friends,_ even if he didn't want to use that word.

The game went on for another half an hour and Rory just stood against a tree and watched, her smile never leaving her face. When they stopped playing Rory watched as they shook hands—a way to say _good game,_ she assumed _—_ and the two varsity players headed off. The last one talked to Jess for a bit before heading in his car and driving away.

Then it was just Jess, and Rory watched as he picked the ball up and began to play alone. Rory tilted her head and watched him shoot the ball a few times before walking across the patch of grass that separated her from her boyfriend. She stood behind the fence and paused, hearing Jess speak.

"He passes the ball to Mariano in the paint, but he's triple teamed. Mariano fakes left, goes right, steps out and shoots—" Jess did just as his words described, shooting from far outside of the box and the ball goes right in with a swish. "—and _scores!"_

"And the crowd goes wild!"

Jess's head whipped around at the sound of Rory's voice; she stood right on the edge of the court, watching him in her red jacket with her perfect hair flowing in the wind and a smile on her face that he loved seeing. A giggle escaped her lips as he stood there, out of breath and covered in sweat (even in the uncharacteristically cold weather). He let out a short laugh and hung his head, looking away from Rory.

She made her way across the court and grabbed the basketball, holding it in her hands and examining it for a second. "I've never played basketball before," she said as she bounced it once. "I realized from a young age that team contact sports were not my thing." Jess looked up at her and she smiled at him as she moved in front of the hoop, between it and Jess, and shot the ball.

A small grunt escaped her lips as she pushed the ball towards the hoop but missed terrible, letting out a _hmp_ before turning to Jess. He laughed slightly before running over to grab the ball and walking back over to Rory. "Teach me?" she asked, and before he could even answer she grabbed the ball and faced the hoop again.

Jess sighed and moved to stand behind Rory, trying his best not to press his sweaty body against hers but doing it anyway without realizing it. "Okay put your arms like this," he adjusted her hands as well, placing her left hand on the side of the ball and her right hand on the rear. "Bend your knees and shoot with your right hand. When you shoot, follow through towards the hoop."

Instead of letting go, however, Jess guided Rory's shooting motion, and the ball went through the hoop just has his shot had before. An excited noise escaped Rory's lips and she quickly turned around, wrapping her arms around Jess's neck. Normally she wouldn't have been so excited about something like this, but the fact that it had been Jess to show her how to shoot the ball meant _something._ He was letting her in.

Jess's hands found their spot on her hips and when she pulled away, he went in to kiss her. Rory, however, had other plans; her glove covered hand pressed to his chest, leaving a bit of distance between and tilting her head up to look at him. "So Luke wasn't lying," she said simply. "You really do play basketball."

His cheeks turned a bright shade of red and he nodded his head, a small chuckle leaving his lips. "How did I not know this?" Rory questioned and Jess shrugged. "I guess it just never came up." His head hung once more and Rory's hand found their way to either side of his face, forcing him to look at her.

"You're a regular Michael Jordan," Rory said and Jess laughed, a smile on his face. "I don't think I'm that good." "Oh I know," Rory nodded. "He's just the only basketball player I know. My mom and I went through a weird Space Jam phase a few weeks ago." Again Jess laughed as Rory's arms wrapped around his waist almost protectively. He shook his head and took her face in his hands, pressing a tender kiss to her lips.

Rory returned the kiss, having missed Jess more than she realized. After a few seconds they pulled away and she looked up at him. "So, are you going to try out for the team?" she asked eagerly and Jess shook his head, unwrapping himself from Rory's arms to grab his water and the basketball.

"I'm serious! Studies say that participation in a school sport makes students more likely to succeed in school," she said with a smile on her face as Jess came over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, the two beginning their way back into town

"You can wear the cute little uniform and get the sweatshirt and the tee shirt and the sweatpants. Oh, and you'll have _friends!_ Wouldn't it be nice to have friends other than me in Stars Hollow? My mom and I can come to all of the games and cheer you on, make you a poster. I'm sure we have some red glitter somewhere in the house, if not I have no problem buying it. Will you turn into a jock and stop reading if you join the basketball team? Because that would suck, really. Don't become a mindless jock."

Rory continued on like this until they reached her house, Jess not even bothering to interject, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get a word in. He just laughed at her insane words, shaking his head.

"Rory," Jess grabbed her arms playfully but firmly, pressing his lips to hers to shut her up. It worked, and they kissed for a few more seconds before he pulled away. "Good night." He offered her a smile—one of his rare, genuine smiles—before pressing a kiss to her cheek and walking down the steps.

"Good night, Dodger," she said as she headed inside.


End file.
